Bulgarians protest high electricity bills

Tens of thousands Bulgarians have taken to the streets of the capital Sofia and over a dozen other cities to protest over high electricity bills.

Chanting “It will be the same every day until we win,” the angry protesters on Sunday demanded that all the companies, which are mediators between the National Electric Company and the consumers be liquidated, Reuters reported.

The demonstrators also demanded the expulsion of the Czech Republic’s CEZ, Energo-Pro, and Austria’s EVN, the three foreign-controlled power distributors that control the local market.

In the capital, protesters threw eggs and detonating cartridges at the Parliament’s building and chanted that the government should resign. Some protesters also clashed with police but there were no reports of injuries or arrests.

“We cannot stand it anymore,” said Penka Slavova, a pensioner, adding that “My pension is 155 levs ($110) and my December bill was 175 levs. What should I do?”

Many protesters attending the Sunday rallies said the power companies lifted their prices unfairly and that they had been overcharged in their December bills. Power distributors said they were investigating complaints.

Power distributors explained the increase in the prices with a longer accounting period because of holidays, an unusually cold weather this winter, and a recent electricity-price rise. Bulgaria increased the costs of electricity by 13 percent last July.

As residents of the European Union’s poorest member, Bulgarians have to allocate a big part of their monthly incomes to electricity bills, especially in the winter.

MN/HN